Moyo-Akili
by DwaejiTokki
Summary: The Titans, minus Beast Boy, wake up in a strange place with no memory of having arrived there. Realizing Beast Boy is not with them, they search for him, only to come across several different versions of their small friend. They found themselves in Beast Boy's mind, called Moyo-Akili.
1. Chapter 1

Moyo-Akili

**Summary**: The Titans, minus Beast Boy, wake up in a strange place with no memory of having arrived there. Realizing Beast Boy is not with them, they search for him, only to come across several different versions of their small friend. They found themselves in Beast Boy's mind, called Moyo-Akili.

**Rating**: K+, just in case.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the Titans. Yet.

Chapter 1

Robin groaned quietly, furrowing his brows. Why did his head hurt? He was fighting someone, and then there was a bright flash of-He sat up, suddenly alert. His senses worked overtime to take in all the information he could gather, running calculations in his intelligent mind.

Bright blue sky and thick green trees (they were supposed to be in a warehouse), soft fertile ground underneath him. The smell of nature reached his nostrils, and a hint of rainfall that had perhaps already fallen or was heading towards him. Robin looked around him and spotted the rest of his team lying unconscious.

He moved to Starfire, who was closest to him and shook her awake, all the while keeping an eye and ear out for danger. Starfire sat up with a woozy moan, touching her hand to her head. "Robin?" she asked. He nodded curtly, then moved on to Raven and Cyborg, who seemed a little better off when they woke.

"Yo, man," Cyborg blinked warily. "Where are we?"

"Looks like a jungle," Robin replied, deciding that they were safe for the time being.

"Jungle?" Starfire repeated, looking around. "But were we not in the warehouse a moment before, battling the..." she trailed off, furrowing her brow in thought. "Please, friends, who were we fighting?"

Raven and Cyborg opened their mouths to answer, but then looked perturbed when they realized that they couldn't remember, either.

"Where's Beast Boy?" Robin asked suddenly, looking around sharply.

The others looked around as well, but didn't see him.

"Hey, Beast Boy!" Cyborg called out, cupping his metal hands around his mouth. "Don't be playing games, man."

There was no reply, no appearance of their young friend.

"Titans," Robin said, "fan out."

They each walked in a different direction, calling for Beast Boy. If they were there, Beast Boy must be as well. He wasn't far from them when they had been fighting...the villain, so it stood to reason that he had to be nearby.

"Beast Boy!" Cyborg yelled. "Man, you alwa-whoa!" He barely managed to dodge the huge claws that swung for him, rolling out of the way and then jumping to his feet at the ready. "Huh?" he uttered, raising his eyebrow when he saw his attacker. "Oh, that's not good."

The other three turned in surprise when they heard Cyborg's yell. His mechanical body slammed into the ground and then slid a few feet before he came to a rest, dazed.

"Cyborg!" Robin said, running to him and drawing his weapon to fend off the opponent. Starfire and Raven joined him, energies summoned and ready.

With a ferocious growl, a giant green creature burst out of the trees, which snapped under his strength.

"Beast Boy?" Starfire gasped.

"I don't know what happened," Cyborg said, standing. "But something made him transform."

Robin narrowed his eyes, biting back a sigh. "Titans, don't hurt him. Try to calm him down. But don't let him get you!"

They all jumped out of the way as the Beast attacked, and his mighty fists split the ground where his friends had just been standing.

"Beast Boy," cried Starfire, "it is us, your friends!"

The Beast turned on her and made a grab for her, but she merely ascended higher into the air out of his reach. He roared in frustration and gave his attention to the ones on the ground, namely Robin.

"Beast Boy," he said, backing away as the Beast approached, "I know you're in there. Just-" He didn't have a chance to finish before the Beast lunged at him, teeth bared.

"Yo, BB!"

The Beast turned to Cyborg, who had his arm cannon pointed at him.

"Listen, man," he said, "I don't want to have to do this."

His only response was a deep growl and an attack.

"Cyborg!" Starfire cried.

The half-robotic teen braced himself to hurt his friend-but the need never came. The Beast gave an unnaturally high yelp of pain and was knocked to the side, clawed hand scrabbling at its neck. An arrow protruded from it, and the Beast howled in pain. The Titans could only gape as the creature fell hard, twitching.

"Beast Boy!" they cried.

Before they could move, another figure appeared, shiny metal flashing in his hand. Blood spilled from the Beast's throat as the figure slashed it open, and they could do nothing. Because when the figure stood from wiping his knife on the grass, they saw it was Beast Boy.

"What?" Cyborg uttered.

Beast Boy gave the teens a cynical expression. At his feet the Beast slowly became intangible, then disappeared altogether. Then the Titans realized that there was something off about their friend. For one thing, he wasn't dressed like Beast Boy. He wore a red headband that held back his considerably longer green hair, and white and red war paint covered his face. His chest was bare, and he wore a bow and a quiver of arrows across his back. At his belted waist was a small knife sheath, and a pair of khaki shorts covered his thighs.

"Uh, okay," Cyborg said. Raven and Starfire both looked thoroughly confused.

Robin spoke, "Who are you?"

The strange Beast Boy cocked his head, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Who am I? If you must ask, you are simple, Robin. I am Beast Boy."

The leader scowled. "Just from the way you're speaking," he said, "with that accent, and those words. You're not Beast Boy."

He blinked, almost thoughtfully. "Then I am a part of Beast Boy. I am known as Ushujaa. A direct translation would be bravery, if you will. So I suppose just call me Bravery."

This time Raven blinked. "Please don't tell me we're in Beast Boy's mindscape," she said.

Bravery smirked. "We are, dear Raven."

"Whoa, hold on," Cyborg held up a hand and looked at Raven. "You mean we're in B's Nevermore?"

"What is going on?" Starfire asked.

Robin folded his arms as though punctuating the alien princess's question.

"Not Nevermore," Bravery said. "Moyo-Akili. Welcome."

"Okay," Robin said. "Suppose this is inside Beast Boy's head. Why are we in a jungle? Why do you speak differently than Beast Boy, with that African accent? And where are the rest of you? You're supposed to be emotions, or characteristics, I presume?"

"Slow down there, hotshot," Bravery said. "I'm not the best at explaining, but I know someone who is. If you'd like to follow me."

Still scowling, Robin nodded curtly, but shot the rest of the team a look that meant be cautious. For all they knew, it could be some kind of villain's trap.

They followed Bravery through the jungle, passing trees that seemed to stretch up forever. Animals called to one another, chattering and howling, though the Titans never spotted any. Raven began to wonder whether there really were animals, and not just the sounds one would expect to hear in such a place. The jungle seemed to be never ending, and though they had been walking for quite a while, none of them felt tired.

Then Bravery stopped. "This is the gate," he said over his shoulder before continuing on.

Before any of them could ask what he meant, the air around the boy rippled and he disappeared. They immediately moved forward for fear of losing him, and suddenly found themselves in a wide prairie. The blue sky was clearly visible, with a bright white orb shining down on them. The tall yellow grass swayed with the cool breeze. Bravery stood waiting for them.

"Uh, where are we?" Cyborg asked, looking around. The jungle had completely disappeared.

"The safari," Bravery replied, as though it were obvious. Then he pointed into the distance, where a lone building stood. "That hut belongs to Udadisi. He spends most of his time there studying, and thinking, probably. We're not particularly close."

"Udadisi?" Raven prompted.

Bravery glanced at her, then started walking. "You would call him Curiosity, or Intelligence."

"I didn't know Beast Boy had any of that," Raven remarked.

Cyborg snickered while Robin shook his head. Bravery stopped in his tracks and turned back with the same cynical expression as before. "You don't know anything about Beast Boy."

The Titans sobered up instantly, and Bravery turned and kept walking. They followed silently. It didn't take long to reach the hut, and when they neared they could see that though it was small, it was well-built and kept. It was made of wood and mud, with a thatched leaf roof. The door was a simple cloth hanging from the wall.

Bravery stepped up and called inside, and received a faint reply. He swept the curtain aside and motioned for them to enter. Inside it was dim, but a bright row of candles flickered along one side of the wall. Stacks of papers and books were scattered across the room, even covering a straw mattress on the floor. Notes were scrawled on the pages, and sketches of various animals and a few plants. The writing was in several different languages, but English scarcely appeared.

"Udadisi," Bravery sang.

The Beast Boy on the other side of the room looked up from his book, removing a pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses. "Ushujaa," he greeted. Then he saw the others and stood up, a curious gleam in his eyes. "What are they doing here? How did they get here? What do they want? Are they real or just projections of themselves? Why did you bring them here? Is everything okay out there?"

The Titans blinked at him, and Bravery held up a hand. "The only answer I have for you is what I have told them. You are the one who will most likely be able to find the answers all of you seek."

"Ah, I see," the other nodded, putting his finger to his chin.

Raven stepped forward. "You're supposed to be Intelligence?" she asked skeptically.

"Well," he replied, waving his hand vaguely, "I suppose I'd be more classified as Curiosity, but I represent Intelligence in part. Busara would probably be more intelligent, you could say." He stepped toward them, and the Titans saw that he was dressed in a yellow African garb with orange and blue patterns.

"Okay," Robin held up his hand and sighed heavily. "Can you just answer our questions?"

"I can certainly try," Curiosity grinned. "I know lots of things."

"How is it possible that we're...here?" Robin frowned.

Curiosity stuck his lower lip out thoughtfully as Bravery wandered toward the bed, pushing a pile of books off so he had room to sit. "Well, here in Moyo-Akili-"

"What is that, exactly?" Cyborg interrupted.

"Moyo-Akili?" Curiosity blinked at him. "Hm. That's a good question. It's kiSwahili, our first language. It doesn't really have a direct translation, but I suppose the closest meaning is Heart Mind, or something like that. This is, I guess you could say, a happy place?"

"Swahili?" Starfire repeated. "Please, but I thought friend Beast Boy spoke the English?"

"Yes," Curiosity replied, "but it's not our first language. Like you. Your mother tongue is Tamaranean, and English came afterwards. Ours is kiSwahili, and then Brazilian Portuguese, and then English."

"What?" the Titans gaped.

"Anyway," Curiosity continued, paying them no mind, "I suppose it's possible for outsiders to come here if they had some kind of means. There is not a portal or a mirror, as Raven has, though I think there could be some form of magic or another that would allow this sort of occurrence."

"So, magic?" Robin said, storing away Beast Boy's language barrier for later. When he received a nod, he asked, "Well, how do we get out?"

"Another good question. I suppose this is more Busara's area of expertise. We should go and ask him." Curiosity looked over at Bravery, who had taken to sharpening his arrow. "Ushujaa, twendeni kwake."

Bravery stood and replaced the arrow in his quiver.

"Let's go see Busara," Curiosity smiled.

**A/N:** Yay, new Teen Titan fic! :D

I hope you guys enjoy this story. It doesn't have anything to do with my other story, so yeah. Any predictions or wants for the way the story pans out? Suggestions, comments, questions are all welcome. :)

Thanks for reading, and I'll try to update soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Too bad there's no shortcut," Curiosity shrugged, talking to no one in particular. Then he halted in his tracks with a gasp. Bravery ignored him, walking past him. "What if there is a shortcut but we don't know about it? Meu Deus! Ushujaa, we must search for this shortcut. I wonder where it is?"

"I'd rather take the long way than spend a long while searching for something that might not exist," Bravery replied. "You can look for it later, after we get to Busara."

"Excuse me," Starfire interrupted, "but please, who is this Busara?"

Curiosity turned to her with a grin, walking backwards. "Busara means Wise, or Wisdom. He's really smart."

This time Raven didn't make a snarky remark. She was still a bit disturbed by Bravery's earlier statement.

"What do you mean the long way?" Robin asked, arms still folded across his chest. He seemed sullen, as though being trapped in Beast Boy's subconscious was a chore.

"It means," said Curiosity, turning back around, "that there's no short way."

When he didn't continue, Robin sighed in exasperation, but let it go.

"How far do we have to walk?" Cyborg asked, dimly aware that Raven and Starfire were floating alongside him rather than walking.

"Not too far," replied Curiosity. He pointed ahead into the never ending safari. "There's the gate."

"I don't see anything," Raven said.

Bravery and Curiosity both stopped and looked back, surprised.

"What do you mean?" Curiosity asked, raising an eyebrow. "It's huge! It's right there! You can't see that giant archway with the swirling white vortex inside?"

It was the Titans' turn to be surprised.

"Uh, no?" Cyborg said at last.

Curiosity and Bravery exchanged a glance. Then they appeared to shrug it off and led the rest of the Titans along. "As long as you're with us," Curiosity said, "we'll get you there. Next up is Waoga's realm!"

"We don't speak Swahili," Raven said, "so maybe you should just call them by their English names, for our sake?"

After a quick chuckle, he said, "Then Fearful's realm it is."

Robin's scowl only deepened. He knew he would learn a lot about Beast Boy's character by being inside his mind, which was always a good thing to know as far as his upbringing told him, but he also knew that it was a huge violation of trust. Despite the fact that Beast Boy's inner selves didn't seem to mind, Beast Boy himself was another story. Robin was still unclear on exactly what happened with the villain in the first place, and he only hoped that their bodies weren't still lying in the warehouse, where someone could easily take them-or worse. And then there was still the matter of the real Beast Boy. If he wasn't here, Robin could only assume he was still conscious, or at least had not been near enough to be affected by whatever that light was.

Raven's thoughts ran along the same line. Struggle as she might to remember who they were fighting and what had happened, she couldn't. The last thing she remembered was the alarm blaring and Robin, as per usual, declaring that there was trouble. She knew that everyone had a mindscape, an inner escape. But she never expected Beast Boy's to be so vast. Maybe a tiny room or something, but then it made sense. He being genetically closer to animals, it seemed obvious that his mind would have wide open skies and wide expanses of nature. Then she suddenly remembered that Beast Boy was not with them, and felt a small nagging sensation in the back of her mind that something was wrong. Why couldn't she remember anything?

Cyborg was, rather than particularly worried about his lapse in memory, more concerned with his best friend. Being in his mind was a huge trust violation, and the sooner he got out the better. He wondered where Beast Boy was now. If he wasn't here, he mused, he must have escaped, or hadn't been knocked out like they were. While Bravery and Curiosity didn't seem to care that they had suddenly dropped in, he was sure Beast Boy would. Because when he and BB had taken a surprise trip into Raven's Nevermore, the emoticlones were actually kind of happy. He wondered if it weren't the same case here.

Starfire was quite unperturbed by the whole situation, and took it in stride. She knew the easiest and quickest way out again was to follow Beast Boy's other selves, confusing though they were. Beast Boy, while not the most complicated character in other's views, was a mystery to Starfire. He was kind, and supposedly funny (she rarely understood his jokes, but laughed anyway), and loyal, and just a wonderful friend in general. But even so she didn't know much about him. She saw the strange dream-like mindscape as a chance to learn a bit about her precious friend, and was content in that regard.

As the Titans were lost in thought, and Curiosity rambled on with surmising and questioning, the group reached the gate. Bravery led the way, followed by Curiosity and Starfire, then Raven and Cyborg. Robin went last, casting a calculating look over his shoulder as he stepped through the invisible portal. He assumed both the jungle and savannah were a part of Africa, but he couldn't be sure.

But those thoughts were pushed aside when he found himself in a basement. It was dank and damp, and a thick musty smell hovered in the air. Something dripped somewhere in the dark room, although he couldn't tell what it was. Throughout the room were stacks of moldy boxes, containing anything from tools to moth-eaten clothes to rat carcasses. The Titans resisted the urge to feel sick and followed Beast Boy's inners, who seemed completely unaffected, to the stairway.

"Man, what is this place?" Cyborg complained, pinching his nose.

Bravery and Curiosity didn't answer, and stepped out into a forest. It was pouring rain and thunder boomed loudly. Lightning occasionally flashed, lighting up the trees so brightly that for an instant it looked like daylight. Raven pulled her hood up to shield her eyes from the rain.

"Odeio esse lugar," Curiosity mumbled, running a hand through his green hand.

Bravery murmured a quiet agreement, then looked both ways before looking to Curiosity and asking something in a different language. Curiosity blinked at him, then looked around. An almost embarrassed expression crossed his face, and Bravery groaned.

"What is it?" Robin asked, speaking up so he could be heard over the pounding of the rain.

"Uh," Curiosity uttered, but was interrupted by Bravery: "We do not remember which direction to go."

"What?" Cyborg vented his frustrations. "Man, I'm not completely waterproof over here, you know! And I'm not going back in that stinky basement." He waved his hand behind him, gesturing to the door, but was surprised to see that it was gone-and in its place was a horrified-looking Beast Boy.

The new Beast Boy gasped and backed away as Cyborg pointed at him, then tripped on an upraised root and fell. Robin moved to help him, but he only scurried away and ran to Bravery, who seemed unsurprised.

"Waoga," he greeted, looking at him with a bemused expression.

"Why are you afraid of our friends?" Curiosity asked.

Waoga merely shook his head, peeking around Bravery at the Titans with wide eyes. His soaked hair was plastered to his forehead, and his ears were back. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but he did have white bandages wrapped around his torso, with a crimson line down the front. His pants were gray and clung to his skin. Then they realized that they were hospital scrubs, which were also too long for him; his bare toes peeked out from under the muddied hems of the legs.

"Titans," Bravery said, "this is Fearful. He will lead us out of here, yes?" He turned back to Fearful as he ended with a question, which was really more of a suggestion.

Fearful swallowed hard, shaking his head. Bravery gripped his shoulders tightly and said something in his language. The frightened one looked as though he would faint, but nodded distantly and began to lead the way into the trees.

"Who's next?" Robin asked, deciding to ignore the fact that Beast Boy's fear was scared of them. And the fact that Fearful now seemed to be hiding behind Bravery, clinging to his arm as though it were his life raft.

"Lucky for us," replied Bravery, "it's Maturity's realm."

"Maturity?" Raven repeated, raising an eyebrow under her hood. "So we're going to Candyland?"

Cyborg scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Raven. It's Tofuland."

"It's nothing like that," Curiosity said seriously, cocking his head. "Ukomavu doubles as Furaha sometimes, since Furaha is pretty weak."

"English, please?" Raven said.

Curiosity blinked and obliged, "Maturity doubles as Happy sometimes, since Happy is pretty weak."

"Happy? Weak?" Robin asked.

"Please," Starfire said. "Beast Boy is always the happy, is he not?"

"Nope," chorused Bravery and Curiosity.

Before any of them could process this new information, Bravery pointed ahead with his free arm. "There's the gate," he announced, despite the fact that the Titans could not see it.

"Anything to get out of this rain," muttered Cyborg.

Another crack of thunder boomed loudly, and Fearful nearly leapt out of his skin. Robin seemed to be the only one who noticed, and he quietly tucked the image away for later analysis. The rain was cold and was starting to wear on his nerves.

Bravery and Fearful suddenly disappeared into a wavering disc of air, and they knew they had finally reached the gate. None of them hesitated to pass through this time, glad to be out of the gloomy, slightly creepy forest.

The first thing they noticed was that they were dry, no trace of having walked through the downpour. Raven studied Fearful out of the corner of her eye, and saw bruises on his arm. On closer inspection she realized that there was a cluster of tiny puncture marks, presumably from needles. Then she remembered his phobia and forced her own curiosity away. If she hated to have others pry into her mind, she imagined others did as well.

Then Raven too took note of where they were. For Happy's realm, it was rather...surprising, they supposed. They had expected hoards of video games and flying pizza slices with tofu clouds or something. But it was the Tower's common room. Nothing was added or missing. Just an exact replica of their home. And then it struck them: the keyword was home. He was happiest here, and so his happy place was modeled after it.

"Hiya!" quipped a familiar voice.

They turned and saw the broad, stupid grin that they had come to associate with Beast Boy. But they knew that it wasn't really him, but a part of him. He wore his Doom Patrol uniform, minus the mask, but the purple pattern was orange.

"What brings ya here?"

"We're just passing through," Curiosity explained. He looked around. "Is that waffle iron new?"

"Yup!" If anything, his grin stretched wider.

"So," Robin interrupted. "You're Maturity?"

"Yes, sir."

"Why are you also Happy, presumably?"

"Because Happy was killed a long time ago, so someone had to step up," he answered, smile never fading.

The Titans looked shocked at this.

"But I'm not Happy all the time," Maturity stated, swinging his legs from the stool he sat upon. "Sometimes Tamaa plays the part. He does pretty well, I guess, though it's hard to fool Raven."

"Where is Tamaa now?" asked Curiosity.

"In his own realm, wallowing, probably. The usual. He rarely comes out anymore. You know. Like you and Busara."

Curiosity laughed. "We're on our way to see him now."

"You don't say," Maturity said, a twinkle in his eye. "Hm, give me a few minutes to come up with some bad jokes for that."

"Wait," Cyborg uttered, drawing their attention to him. "You just said bad jokes! You think your jokes are hilarious!"

Maturity scoffed, suddenly looking offended. The twinkle in his eye turned into a hard flash as the orange pattern on his uniform darkened to brown. "Don't associate that ego to me. I know my limits and shortcomings, and I'm not afraid to admit them. I don't make myself appear greater than I am. Tamaa is the one who covers everything up with that horrible ego. Don't let it fool you for a second." The scowl remained on his face for a moment, but then he exhaled heavily and rubbed his face. When he looked up again, he had adopted the persona of Happy again, and his uniform was back to the orange.

Bravery cleared his throat. "We have a mission, still, if you'd like to join me on it," he said.

"Ooh, I'll come with!" cried Maturity, leaping down from his stool and raising his arm excitedly.

Once again, Robin stored the information and followed his team and Beast Boy's inners quietly. He would have to think a lot after this ordeal was over, and then confront Beast Boy about it. Or should he confront him at all? It was a violation of his privacy, but then again, some of what he was seeing weighed heavily on his own mind.

Maturity quickly took the lead and brought them to the elevator, which they all crammed inside. Fearful shrank down in the corner, making himself as small as possible and covering his head. It worried his friends a bit, but the other characters didn't seem to be bothered by the behavior, which only worried the Titans more.

They rode the elevator up to the roof. The Titans looked out, expecting to see the blue sea and the city, but neither were there. Instead of the city there was a small village, and rather than the ocean there was a jungle. Robin's brow creased, but he said nothing. By this time Cyborg had learned not to question it as well, and both Raven and Starfire remained silent.

As one, the Titans suddenly realized that there was an extra Beast Boy. There was Bravery and Fearful, Curiosity and Maturity, and plus one. This inner wore a dark blue Doom Patrol uniform, and his forest green hair was slicked back, strangely enough. His eyes traveled to each of the Titans who gaped back at him.

"Which one are you?" Cyborg finally asked.

The new Beast Boy smiled. "Fadhila."

"English," Raven practically growled. Now that she knew Beast Boy was not a native English speaker, she understood that most of his inner monologues would be in Swahili or whatever. But it also annoyed her that he knew something she didn't.

"Grace," he replied swiftly, almost apologetically. "Although that's not a direct translation. It would be something more like Mannerly, or Civility. I believe your version is called Rude."

"Uhh," Cyborg droned. "Then shouldn't you be called Rude? I mean, Grace is kind of a girl name, dude."

He smiled kindly. "If you wish to call me that, I will answer to it."

"But isn't Beast Boy usually," Robin trailed off.

"Rude?" he finished, still smiling. "I have to keep up with your expectations."

The Titans stared at him. "You mean you act gross like that because that's what we expect of you?" Raven asked.

Rude inclined his head.

"Fadhila," said Bravery. "We are going to Busara to send them back. Would you like to come? You may as well because it seems everyone is joining along the way."

"Just as well," said Rude. "Matumaini will need us all in order to accomplish such a task."

"I see."

"So shall we go and retrieve the rest of us?" Rude smiled, directing his question to his clones but looking at the Titans. "Through the gate."

Beast Boy's inners all walked to the far end of the roof and disappeared, and the Titans followed, feeling more perplexed and tired than before. And they still couldn't remember how they had gotten there in the first place.

**A/N:** This chapter is longer than what I was planning, but that's okay since I updated later than I planned. Please forgive me.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! ^-^ There should be two more chapters, tiny possibility of three. I'll update as fast as I can.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When they stepped through the gate in Maturity / Happy's realm, the Tower disappeared. In its place was the village they had seen from the roof. Up close, they could see that it was definitely African, as so much of Beast Boy's inner mind was. The huts were made of mud and sticks, and the roof was of thatched leaves. Rather than doors, there were cloths hanging over the openings, concealing the interior. Surrounding them was a rich green jungle, and from it animals could be heard.

"Glorious!" cried Starfire, looking around. "Who lives here?"

Maturity grinned. "This is Ubunifu's-I mean, uh," he stuttered when he saw Raven's glare, "Creative's realm!"

"You need paint," said a hushed voice behind Maturity. When he turned he was met with a green hand covered in bright paint, which immediately began smearing it across his face. Maturity scrunched his face up, staying as still as possible until the newest addition had finished and stepped back to view his handiwork. Maturity slowly opened his eyes and received a curt nod from Creative.

Creative was dressed in a plain light blue T-shirt and khaki shorts, and a pair of ratty old sneakers covered his feet. His hands and face were smeared with paint and what looked like graphite or charcoal, and his hair was messy as though he had just woken up.

"You have to come with us," Maturity said. "We're all going to see Busara to send our friends back."

Creative's eyes flickered to each of the Titans, then back to Maturity. "Why?"

"Because Busara will need all of us," Rude said patiently.

"I don't want to," Creative said, turning his back and going back inside his hut.

"Ubunifu!" groaned Bravery and Maturity.

Creative poked his head back out of his door, eyebrow raised defiantly. "I don't want to go. I want to stay here."

"Are you doing something right now?" Curiosity asked. "Is it important? Why don't you want to come? Do you want them to trapped in here with us forever?"

"No," he replied shortly. "I am busy with my work."

"Work?" Raven asked. This time she raised an eyebrow.

Creative glared at her, but looked slightly flustered. "Yes, my work."

"May we see your work, friend Creative?" Starfire asked, clasping her hands hopefully.

He stared at her for a moment, then glanced at the others. "You need paint," he said quietly, lowering his gaze and disappearing into his hut.

Maturity marched up to the door, his uniform brown once more. "Okay, let's make a deal. Kama sisi basi wewe rangi nyuso zetu, wewe kuja?"

For a moment, there was no reply, but then Creative appeared once more, an interested look on his face. "Je, ahadi?"

"Mm-hm."

Creative went back inside, and clattering and rustling was heard. Maturity turned to the Titans with an apologetic expression, but before they could ask why, Creative promptly reappeared with his arms full and brushed past his brother inner. Once he had passed, Maturity had taken up Happy's disposition again.

"Ready for face-painting?" asked Curiosity.

"What?" the Titans replied.

"It was the only way Creative would come with us," Rude explained, eyeing Creative's bowls of paint warily. "We all have to do it now. On the plus side, Creative is really good at this."

Without speaking, Creative knelt down, arranged the bowls, and stuck his fingers in them. Then he turned on Curiosity, who cooperated, closing his eyes and mouth. Colorful fingers swept quickly across his face, leaving designs that probably meant something the Titans didn't understand.

Raven suddenly felt sick. Starfire, of course, was immensely excited for her turn, and asked a grudging Robin if he thought she would look indigenous with a painted face. Cyborg had a look of resolve on his face; he had given up already with Beast Boy's inners. They were pretty intense, and he knew he wouldn't win when he was in the boy's mind.

Creative had finished with both Curiosity and Rude, and had moved on to Fearful, who was being held down by Bravery. Bravery didn't need paint since he had been wearing it the entire time, and Maturity had already been surprise painted when they had arrived. That only left the Titans, and he turned to them.

Starfire didn't wait for him to come to her. She flitted right up to him, fists pressed against her chest as though that would contain her excitement. Creative looked a bit amused, and leaned down to gather more paint. When he had finished, the job looked much like Bravery's, and they realized quickly enough that it was a warrior's mask.

Cyborg had bend over a bit so the green bean could reach him, and Creative painstakingly made sure that the paint never touched the metallic half of his friend's face. Which Cyborg appreciated, as he wasn't entirely sure whether it would stain or not.

Creative immediately moved to Robin and made a simple red line across his cheekbones and over the bride of his nose. This left Robin a bit unsure whether the line was for simplicity or it represented something else entirely. But then he shook that thought away-simple was good for him. He wasn't sure he was comfortable in having a part of Beast Boy painting his face.

Raven took a small step back, glaring daggers at Creative, who seemed completely unaffected. He obliviously moved forward and motioned for her to remove her hood. With a heavy sigh, Raven finally resigned herself to the inevitable and closed her eyes. For a long moment, she felt no touch. When still Creative did not touch her, she slowly opened her eyes to see that he was studying her chakra. She blushed at the intensity of his gaze, and immediately cursed her feelings. Then Creative slowly raised his hand to her chin, and pressed his thumb to the bottom of her lower lip, then dragged it down. This left a white streak against her gray skin, and he left it at that, much to her surprise. When he turned away she quickly put her hood back up to conceal her red cheeks from the others.

"Satisfied?" asked Curiosity as Creative wiped his hands on his shirt.

He smirked in reply, then started forward to lead them to the gate.

"Ushujaa," Maturity said, catching up to Bravery. "You should go in first and find Tamaa, and when you do we'll come along."

Bravery gave a short bark of laughter, and Fearful, who was clinging to his arm, cringed. "Nice try. But you should go, since you two share Furaha. Tamaa will listen to you."

Maturity's uniform changed from the whimsical orange to serious brown again. "No. Tamaa will not listen to reason, nor will he come willingly. You will have to taken him by force, as you will."

Bravery stopped in his tracks and turned to Maturity. "I do not want to do that. Tamaa is very unstable, and even I cannot control him. We should pass through Tamaa's realm and have Busara fetch him."

"But we cannot pass through Tamaa's realm," argued Maturity, "if Tamaa has reason to feel that we should not."

"You can reason with him."

"I cannot."

At this point, Robin intervened. "Okay, stop. Who is Tamaa?"

Beast Boy's inners, who had all stopped when the argument began, looked to him, then at each other. Curiosity shuffled his feet as Creative began to whistle a surprisingly good tune. Fearful buried his face into Bravery's back, and he glared daggers at Maturity, who scowled. Rude made an uncomfortable face.

"Well?" Robin prompted, folding his arms.

Maturity sighed and folded his own arms. "You would call him Despair," he said. "He is hard to control when he comes out. But he stays in his own realm for most of the time, unless he decides to adopt Happy for a while."

"Despair?" Cyborg repeated, frowning. "You mean, like...sadness?"

"In a way," nodded Maturity. "Although that's too light of a term. He's very difficult to talk to. He likes to shut everyone out. When he becomes Happy, he tries to alleviate his burdens, but it never lasts for long before he falls apart."

The Titans looked disturbed by this information.

"Then," said Robin, "how are we going to get to this Busara, if Despair won't let us pass?"

"That's not for certain," said Bravery dismissively. "Despair will listen to Maturity, but he is too frightened to go in. I would go, but my presence will only agitate him."

"Then we'll go," offered Raven.

The inners stared at her as though she had just turned into Trigon.

"Don't be ridiculous, Raven," said Rude. "If he will not tolerate us, he will most definitely hate you."

"What," said Starfire tentatively, "if this Despair adopts the persona of the Happy? Surely then he will be willing."

Maturity opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it again, looking thoughtful. "Huh," he said, looking at the other inners, who also seemed to think it was a good idea. "In that case," he shrugged and ambled over to the supposed portal. He disappeared, leaving the rest to wait.

Creative's gaze traveled around, and he looked very bored. When no one spoke, Creative began to sing in a sweet voice. "Maua mazuri yapendeza, maua mazuri yapendeza. Ukiyatazama yanameremeta. Hakuna limoja lisilo pendeza. Ukiyatazama yanameremeta. Hakuna limoja lisilo pendeza."

"Glorious!" cried Starfire when he had finished, startling him.

Cyborg and Raven gaped at him.

"Since when do you sing?" Cyborg demanded as though he been betrayed.

Creative merely stared at them. Then he said, "It is hard to sing in English without my accent. It would raise questions Beast Boy prefers not to answer. And I have to keep up with your expectations, just as all of us do."

Before the Titans could reply, each of the inners' ears perked up simultaneously. Which wasn't strange at all, mused Raven sarcastically.

"Time to go," announced Rude.

The Titans didn't bother asking how they knew, or what was up with the ears. Robin assumed that they heard something they couldn't, like how they couldn't see the gates. But they were directed to the gate and walked through it, into a strange place.

This place reminded Raven and Cyborg of Nevermore. Everything seemed to be incomplete, or in pieces. Uprooted trees hovered in the air, no ground beneath them. The land they walked upon seemed to be ravaged by drought, and the sky was gray. Maturity approached them with another inner at his side-Happy. But all of them well knew that it was really Despair, especially due to a strained look in his eyes, as though he were trying to hard.

"Let us go, quickly," said Bravery briskly.

Despair, in his disguise, led the way. Moving quite animatedly. He talked about anything and everything, and cracked out terrible jokes every now again, at which he would giggle uncontrollably before continuing with his one-sided conversation. No one else spoke, but Despair didn't even seem to notice.

It didn't take them long at all to reach the gate that would lead finally to Busara, and Raven realized that Despair's realm was the smallest and most broken thus far. Perhaps wallowing in self-pity did that.

"Here we are!" Despair exclaimed as they appeared on the other side.

This realm was different from all the others in every respect. Even Raven's jaw fell to the floor at the sight. It was a library. A library! Towering bookcases lined each wall, and every shelf was crammed to its fullest with books of every size. Raven's eyes traveled from spine to spine, searching out titles she might know. No, they were all in Swahili or Portuguese, whatever he had called it. Only one or two English books could be made out, but those were exclusively on animals.

At the center of the room sat two Beast Boy's, who were looking back at them. But what gathered the Titans' interests was the fire between them. A fire that didn't burn anything, just flickered gently on the burgundy carpet.

"Welcome!" said one of the inners. This one wore his Doom Patrol uniform, but it was pink. Which Cyborg made a note to make fun of him for later.

"Shauku," greeted Maturity. "Busara."

The other inner, this one wearing a gold colored robe, nodded. He had a very calm, Raven-like expression. Intelligence poured from his very being, and the Titans were no longer skeptical about Beast Boy's wisdom. "You must be here to be sent back," he said. When he received a dumb nod from the Titans, he continued. "Hope will have his work cut out for him." No one else spoke, waiting for Wisdom to explain.

"So...you must be Hope?" Robin asked the inner in pink, trying to break the awkward silence.

The recipient of the question burst out laughing, practically glowing. "No, no. This is Hope." He pointed to the fire beside him.

"What," he uttered. "But, but."

"Cute, isn't he?" the pink-clad inner waggled his eyebrows.

Raven groaned quiven groaned quietly. "That makes you Love, doesn't it?"

She received a glowing smile. "If you want to call me that. My name, Shauku, more closely translates to Passion."

"Great," she muttered.

"But how is Hope fire?" Cyborg asked, gripping his head in his hands. "It's too-too-!"

The herd of Beast Boys laughed.

Wisdom replied, "Hope died long ago." He ignored the shocked looks of the Titans. "He used to be a alteration of Beast Boy's form, like us, but when he died he disappeared. For a long while, Passion took his place, but it's really not the right job for him. Eventually though, shortly after escaping from the lab, a tiny flame appeared in what was once Hope's realm. Passion brought it to me, and we have been tending it ever since. As he met the Doom Patrol, and then you, Hope has been growing stronger. Soon, he might regain his form."

The Titans frowned thoughtfully, except Starfire, who was wiping tears from her eyes.

"Wait," Cyborg said. "Then if that's the case with Hope, can't it be the same for Happy? He can be reborn too, right?"

Wisdom smiled. "Under the right conditions, I suppose."

"I think that's enough Moyo-Akili time for you guys," said a cold voice behind them.

The Titans whipped around to see yet another Beast Boy, this one glaring angrily. He was wearing his purple Doom Patrol uniform.

"Oh, great," Cyborg said. "Which one are you?"

"Which one am I?" he repeated. He jabbed a thumb into his chest. "I'm Beast Boy-the real one."

**A/N:** I think my chapters are just getting longer as we go. -.- Oh well. I suppose that's a good thing.

One chapter left, guys! Thanks for all the support so far.

In response to a guest's question: Sadly this story is not BBRae, simply because I don't like to write pairings. I royally screw those up. Sorry.

So thanks for reading, I really appreciate your time. I'll update as soon as I can!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Titans whipped around to see yet another Beast Boy, this one glaring angrily. He was wearing his purple Doom Patrol uniform.

"Oh, great," Cyborg said. "Which one are you?"

"Which one am I?" he repeated. He jabbed a thumb into his chest. "I'm Beast Boy-the real one."

After a moment of complete silence, Beast Boy scoffed.

"We're leaving," he said. "Now."

Wisdom stood slowly. "That is up to Matumaini now, Ndugu."

"Wait!" cried Curiosity, throwing his hands up. "I want to know what happened. How did they get here? Why are they here? Why are you mad? Did you guys get in a fight with some weird guy?"

Beast Boy took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.

"Yeah, man," Cyborg said. "We don't remember what happened. The last thing we remember is fighting someone, and then a bright flash of light, and we woke up in Bravery's realm."

As Cyborg spoke, Beast Boy only looked more sullen, and he scowled at him. "Really?" he sneered. "Well, if you don't remember, I don't see the point in explaining."

"That doesn't make sense!" Robin snapped. "Just tell us what happened. It's important, and I need to know."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "Well, it all started when Cyborg decided to play a prank on me..."

_Cyborg snickered as he punched in the code to Raven's room. He knew full well that she had been dragged unceremoniously to the mall by Starfire for 'girl time,' so now was the perfect time to execute his plan. He took a moment as he entered the dim room to imagine Beast Boy's face when he realized what Cyborg had done. Holding back gleeful laughter, Cyborg made his way to Raven's dresser, upon which sat exactly what he was looking for: Raven's mirror to Nevermore. _

_He swiped it and quickly made his way to Beast Boy's room, careful to lock Raven's door as he left. Beast Boy's was hardly ever locked, simply because he could never remember his own password and locked himself out. His eyes scanned over the messy quarter, looking for the perfect spot to put the mirror. He didn't want to lay it out in an obvious place; Beast Boy might manage to get it back before Raven noticed its absence. But he also didn't want to hide it too discreetly, or only he would be able to find it, thus revealing his master plan. His eye fell on the bed, specifically the bottom bunk, which he knew for a fact Beast Boy never even touched. Perfect. After hiding it, he nimbly stepped out of his green friend's room and made his way back to the common room, whistling a merry tune. _

_"Dude," Beast Boy said as he entered. "Longest bathroom break ever. Hurry up, I'm dying to kick your butt again." _

_"Ha!" Cyborg scoffed, sitting and picking up his controller. "As if you could beat me, green bean." _

_"Oh yeah?" came his determined reply. "Watch me!" _

_At this they started the racing game, filling the room with engine noises. Cyborg was hunched over his knees, staring dead at the screen. Only his thumbs moved across the controller pads. Beast Boy, on the other hand, squirmed and physically moved the controller in the direction he wanted to go. His tongue peeked out of the corner of his lips, and his brow was furrowed in concentration. He occasionally let out a yelp as Cyborg left him a trap, and cheered when he briefly managed to pass Cyborg's car. _

_Hours passed, and Starfire and Raven finally returned. Starfire deposited her numerous bags on the floor, and Raven tiredly drifted past the couch without a word. _

_"Glorious evening to you, my friends," Starfire greeted, hovering behind the couch to watch the cars onscreen for a moment. "Please, where is Robin?" _

_"Uh," Beast Boy uttered, trying to think and play at the same time, which never worked well for him, "training gym place I think." _

_"I see. Thank you!" she called as she flew off, arms spread wide and a happy smile on her face. _

_"I'm winning!" Beast Boy declared victoriously, pressing a button that allowed his car to move at astonishing speed. _

_Cyborg scowled, and was about to retort when the television suddenly exploded. _

_"Whoa!" both boys cried, dropping their controllers in shock. _

_Almost immediately after the television shorted, the windows shattered, and the kitchen behind them could be heard falling to pieces. Beast Boy and Cyborg exchanged astonished looks before Robin and Starfire burst into the common room, demanding an explanation for the commotion. Then Raven appeared through a portal, eyes flashing angrily. _

_"Where is it?" she demanded, glaring at Cyborg and Beast Boy. _

_"What are you talking about, Raven?" Beast Boy asked, mouth gaping. _

_"My mirror! Where is it? Now!" _

_Beast Boy blinked and looked in horror to Cyborg, who feigned ignorance and shrugged. _

_"Where did you leave it, Raven?" he asked helpfully. _

_More things broke before Raven managed to take a few calming breaths. Robin stepped forward, hands raised. _

_"Raven, try to calm down. Are you sure you didn't move it?" _

_She glared daggers at him. "I never take it out of my room," she seethed. "And I looked everywhere in my room. It should be in my room, yet it isn't. Someone took it." Before anyone could interrupt, she continued, "And it was there before I left with Starfire. That leaves three suspects, one of which is out. So that leaves two suspects." Raven's angry eyes turned on the metal teen and his green companion. _

_"I didn't take it," Beast Boy offered quickly. _

_"Okay," Robin said, folding his arms. "One of you is going to come out and admit it, or there will be a room search. If you give the mirror back now, I'll be willing to let you off easy." _

_"I won't," Raven growled. _

_Cyborg raised his eyebrow at Beast Boy. "Dude, just give her mirror back." _

_"I didn't take it!" Beast Boy insisted. _

_Robin sighed heavily. "Room search it is. And whichever of you has it is going to clean all of this up, take all the chores for the next month, and on top of that, extra training sessions!" _

_"Dude," the two suspects protested. _

_Robin marched off towards the teens' rooms, and stopped at Beast Boy's, which was closer. "All right, Beast Boy. Open your door." _

_"It's not locked," he muttered, reaching past the boy wonder to press the open button. _

_Once the door was opened, Raven brushed past them and looked around in disgust. "I swear, if you have it," she growled. She was obviously not in the mood for any of this. All she wanted to do was relax, but she wouldn't be able to until she found her precious mirror. _

_"I'm telling you I don't!" Beast Boy replied sullenly. He pouted his lip and started kicking things up from the floor, revealing the absence of the mirror underneath. Then he moved to his desk and opened all of the drawers, then emptied his closet. He knelt down and dragged heaps of junk out from underneath the bed, but still no mirror. It wasn't on his bunk, either. "See?" _

_"Bottom bunk," Robin said, folding his arms. _

_Beast Boy leapt down and ripped the pillows off the bed. Then he removed the blanket. "See?" he said. "No-huh!?" _

_The mirror gleamed almost mockingly on the bed, and Raven snatched it up. _

_"I knew it!" she said, turning on him. _

_Beast Boy's mouth opened and closed like a fish, unable to find words. "I-I didn't-It wasn't! I didn't take it, I swear!" _

_"Then why was it in here, your room?" Raven demanded. _

_Robin intervened. "Beast Boy, go and clean up-" _

_"I didn't take it!" Beast Boy protested, looking close to tears. He turned his gaze on Cyborg, who had an innocent expression. "Dude?" _

_"Beast Boy," Robin said shortly. He was losing his patience quickly. "You-" _

_He was cut off when Beast Boy was suddenly thrown against the wall with a small shriek of surprise. Raven raised her hand to strike him with her magic again, but Starfire grabbed her wrist, uttering her friend's name. _

_"Raven, stop!" Robin said as she wrenched her arm free. _

_"I've had it with him going in my room!" she said. Rage was getting the better of her again. _

_Beast Boy cowered against the wall, looking quite scared and shaken by Raven's behavior-especially considering his innocence in the matter. _

_Cyborg stepped forward, now looking concerned. "Hey, man. Calm down, it's just a mirror. It's not like he broke it or anything." _

_"Let me go!" Raven snapped, kicking Robin in the shin. He winced but held on tightly. She tried to pull herself free, but dropped her mirror in the process. _

_Beast Boy immediately reacted: he lunged forward and caught it just before it hit the floor, saving it from shattering. He breathed a sigh of relief and glanced up, hoping that Raven would have calmed down a bit from his heroism. _

_She was only further enraged. _

_Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg were pushed back by her magic, and she moved to hit Beast Boy with it as well. He gasped and cringed away, holding his arms-with the mirror-up for instinctive protection. _

_"Raven, no!" _

_Their friends moved to hold Raven back, but were a little too late. Her magic struck the mirror, but rebounded, engulfing the room in a bright light. Beast Boy squeezed his eyes shut against it, but didn't feel any pain. Then he slowly opened his eyes and looked around his room. His friends were gone. _

Raven, by the end of Beast Boy's story, looked very ashamed of herself. And, for the matter, so did Cyborg, although in his head he still thought the concept behind the prank was a funny one. Perhaps if Raven hadn't been in a bad mood when she noticed the mirror missing, she would not have gotten so caught up in her anger.

Beast Boy's expression softened when he realized that his friends really didn't remember, and that they looked sorry for it. Of course he immediately forgave them-that's what friends did.

"So what do you say we get out of here?" he asked, smiling a little.

"That sounds good," Robin nodded.

Wisdom spoke, "Then let us all gather around. Friends, please stand around Hope. Join hands." They did, looking down at the little fire that was Hope. Raven reluctantly took Beast Boy's hand, still feeling extremely guilty. Cyborg took his other hand, and then knew that Beast Boy had forgiven him. "Brothers, gather round the Titans in the same manner." All of Beast Boy's inners encircled them and joined hands.

As the circles were completed, Hope suddenly grew bright, growing taller and wider. The Titans flinched, expecting to burn, but the flames were cool to the touch. As Hope grew brighter and brighter, they had to close their eyes against it. Then the light suddenly withdrew, and they slowly opened their eyes.

They were in Beast Boy's nasty room again. In the place of Hope was Raven's mirror, which she gingerly picked up.

"Well," Beast Boy said, glancing at his digital clock on the bedside table, "good night. Or is it morning?" It was 3:07 in the morning. Then he shrugged and jumped up into his top bunk, rolling into his numerous blankets and turning his back on the Titans.

They exchanged a glance, reluctant to part with him. They wondered if he was still angry at them. Before they could say anything, Beast Boy suddenly rolled over and looked at them with his startling green eyes.

"You guys should wash your faces. That paint isn't exactly meant for light-skinned people." His eyes flicked to Cyborg's face. "Yours is cool, though. I like it. Wear it forever."

Cyborg rolled his eye. "Yeah? Well, where's your face paint?"

Beast Boy smirked. "The plants I need to make it don't grow around here. Luckily I found some of Robin's money and got the plants I needed to entrance myself to go into my mind and get you guys. You guys really messed with my emotions today! I'm tired."

Robin nodded. "Thanks, Beast Boy. Good night, th-wait, where'd you find my money?!"

"Good night!" Beast Boy sang quickly, rolling over again. He pretended to snore loudly, successfully ending the conversation.

Robin narrowed his eyes. He would get him for that.

The other Titans wished Beast Boy a good night and left his room quietly. Raven quickly disappeared into her own room so she could finally get some meditation in.

"I guess I'll cancel tomorrow's training," Robin said decisively. Starfire and Cyborg grinned happily. "We've had a long day. Well, let's all get some shut-eye-"

The Tower alarm blared loudly.

"Titans, trouble!" Robin announced, bounding off towards the common room with Starfire at his heels.

Cyborg sighed, but then chortled when he heard a loud groan from Beast Boy's room. "Good morning!" he called through the door before joining Robin and Starfire.

**A/N:** I didn't expect to finish this tonight. But since I did, I'm updating it! ^-^b

Thanks to all my readers and whatnot~ I hope you didn't hate the story. :)


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